IPL 2022, DC vs RR: How Team India, Delhi Capitals got Kuldeep Yadav back into a happy space

Dravid & Co drafted him into team straight after injury, Pant & Ponting told him he will play all matchesNEW DELHI: Kuldeep Yadav's career is already one of the most intriguing stories in Indian cricket. A trump card till the 2019 World Cup, he fell off the radar of the Indian team management and subsequently lost his place at Kolkata Knight Riders too. This IPL season, in Delhi Capitals colours, he seems to have turned a corner. It's obvious he is enjoying his cricket again. "I am enjoying my bowling after a long time," Kuldeep unapologetically declared during the post-match presentation on Wednesday. When he suffered a gruesome knee injury in Dubai ahead of the second leg of IPL last year, the darkest phase of his career just got darker. The turnaround, however, happened when the new team management, under head coach Rahul Dravid and bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, decided to bring him straight back into the white-ball and red-ball squad during the home season.

The idea was to listen to him, give him space and get him back into a good mental space. The present team management didn't want to get into what the previous management had told Kuldeep or dealt with it. Dravid wanted to see first-hand what Kuldeep was going through and make sure the potential wasn't missed. He was kept in the team to give him the confidence that he still belonged there and that could be translated by giving him an odd game. Bowling quicker through the air was the only bit of cricket skills that was discussed with him.

And it continued at Capitals. "When he came into Delhi Capitals setup, he needed a lot of confidence. He had not played the last season and had a couple of poor seasons. Rishabh, I and Ricky gave him confidence during the